Mail-receiving receptacle.



J. W. CUTLER.

MAIL RECEIVING REOEPTAGLE.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 4, 190a.

Patented Jan. 6, 1914c.

UNITED STACiE PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH WARREN CUTLER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 CUTLER MAIL CHUTE COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPO- RATION OF NEW YORK.

MAIL-RECEIVING RECEPTACLE.

Application filed September 4, 1908.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J osnrn WARREN CUT- LER, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Receiving Receptacles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

The present invention relates to mail re ceiving receptacles of the type in which one or more chutes lead from upper stories of a building to a lower floor in order to conduct mail matter to a box located on the latter floor, and the object of the invention is to provide a receptacle which shall be adapted for receiving and holding mail from large buildings in which a great amount of mail is deposited.

To this and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figures 1 and 2 are views showing the mail receiving box in front and side elevation, respectively; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the box.

In large buildings the amount of mail re ceived in the mail. boxes is so great as to require mail boxes of great capacity. The natural tendency is to extend the boxes upwardly and get capacity in this way, but this has not been possible heretofore as the letter drop or mail receiving slot for use by persons on the ground floor has to be located within convenient reach and the post oflice authorities will not permit the extension much above the slot as letters piled up in the box to or above the level of the slot in the box as now constructed could easily be extracted. In order to meet these conditions and to make it possible to extend the mail box upwardly as far as desired so as to obtain greater capacity I have provided a construction in which mail may be deliv-.

ered to the box from the ground floor even though the box he filled above the mail drop or receiving aperture.

In the present embodiment for carrying out my invention I divide the box 1 of any Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 6, 1914.

Serial No. 451,747.

suitable construction into two compartments 2 and 3, the former receiving and holding the mail received from the chute 4 and the latter receiving and being adapted to hold the mail from the mail receiving aperture or slot 5 which in this instance is located in the front wall at quite a distance below the top of the box. Preferably this division is effected by a vertically arranged partition 7 that may extend downwardly from the top of the box to a point below the mail receiving slot or aperture 5. By this arrangement the mail passing through slot 5 will drop through chamber 3 into chamber 2, until the mail accumulates in the latter to a point on a level with the lower end of partition 7 when the mail from slot 5 will remain in chamber 3. The chamber 3 may be made much smaller than chamber 2 because the mail received through slot 5 is small as com pared with that received from the chute.

The chambers preferably communicate taining the mail-receiving opening and the lower edge of the partition 7 extends below the upper edge of the opening, so that when the closure 8 is opened by a mail collector having a key for the lock or other securing device 9, the mail in both compartments may be reached.

Arranged within the mail box in the Path of the mail received from the chute 4 is a deflector which in this case consists of a curved plate 10 positioned angularly relatively to the normal line or path of the mail. In order that the angular relation of this deflector to the path of the mail may be changed for buildings of difierent heights, said deflector is hinged at 11 to the top of the box in rear of the chute, and to support it in its different adjusted positions there may be provided, preferably in rear of the deflector, a swinging member that cooperates with the rear of thedeflector. In this instance, this swinging member comprises a curved rack 12 pivoted at 13 and cooperating with a projection 14 to support the deflector and at the same time to effect its ad- {gustment only from the interior of the mail The deflector preferably directs the mail toward a cushion or retarding device 15 which in this instance is arranged on the partition 7 and the mail after striking the cushion drops to the cushioned bottom 16 of the box.

Owing to the location of the adjustable deflector and the cushion in the upper part of the mail box, away from the mail collect-- ing door 8, there may be provided a second door or closure 17 which, when opened, permits repairs of these parts and at the same time the adjustment of the deflector.

From the foregoing it will be seen that mail may be deposited from the lower floor even though the mail from the upper floors is stacked above the mail receiving aperture in the box and in this way the capacity of the box may be made to agree with the requirements. The opening of the mail collecting door permits mail in both compartments to be reached with little difliculty, the mail from the smaller compartment in most instances dropping by gravity when the mail beneath it is removed. The changing of the angular relation of the deflector to the path of the mail permits the box to be adapted for buildings of different heights, the mail being directed toward the cushion on the partition which thus has two functions.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a mail chute extending from the upper floors of a building, of a receiving receptacle at a lower floor having a relatively large chamber into which the chute discharges and a smaller chamber provided with walls forming a restricted orifice opening from the smaller into the larger chamber and preventing the entrance of mail matter from the latter, and a mail receiving orifice in the smaller chamber.

2. In a mail receiving receptacle, the combination with a chute, of a box into which the chute delivers having a mail receiving aperture, and a partition arranged in the box extending below and behind the aperture and forming a chamber in proximity thereto, a cushion carried by said partition, and a deflector arranged in the path of mail from the chute, directing said mail to the cushion.

3. In a mail receiving receptacle, the combination with a chute, of a box into which the chute delivers, having a mailreceiving aperture and a mail removing opening in its front wall, a vertically arranged partition extending downwardly from the top of the box behind and in close proximity to the mail receiving aperture and to a point below the upper edge of the mail .removmg opening, a cushion carried by said Copies of this patent may be obtained for partition, and a deflector arranged to direct mail, received from the chute from its normal line to the cushion.

4;. A mail receiving receptacle compris ing a chute, a box into which the chute delivers, an'adjustable deflector arranged to be engaged by mail matter entering the box from the chute, and means for holding the deflector in different fixed positions of angular adjustment relative to the longitudinal axis of the chute.

5. A mail receiving receptacle comprising a chute, a box into which the chute delivers, a cushion in the box out of line with the chute, an adjustable deflector for directing the mail from the line at which it enters the box to the cushion and means holding the deflector in different fixed positions of angular adjustment relative to the line of delivery by the chute.

6. A mail receiving receptacle comprising a chute, a box into which the mail delivers having a closure for obtaining the mail therefrom and a second closure, an adjustable deflector arrange-d to direct the mail from its normal path, and means for hold.- ing the deflector in different fixed positions of adjustment, said means being operable only through the opening closedby the second closure.

7. A mail receiving receptacle comprising a chute, a box into which the chute delivers, a vertically arranged cushion in the box, an adjustable deflect-or arranged to direct mail received from the chute to the cushion, and means for holding the deflector in different fixed positions of adjustment.

8. A. mail receiving receptacle comprising a chute, a box into which the chute delivers, a hinged deflector arranged in the path of the mail received through the chute, and a swinging member adapted to cooperate with the rear face of the deflector to hold the latter in adjusted position.

9. A mail receiving receptacle comprising a chute, a box into which the chute delivers, a hinged deflector arranged in the path of the mail received through the chute, a projection on the rear face of the deflector, and a swinging rack arranged in rear of the deflector and cooperating with the projection.

10. A mail receiving receptacle comprising a chute, a box into which the chute delivers, a hinged deflector arranged in the path of the mail received through the chute, and means in rear of the deflector for effecting the adjustment thereof in diflerent fixed positions.

JOSEPH XVARREN CUTLER.

Witnesses:

W. M. HARPER,

J. RAYMOND HANNA.

five centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. r 

